UCSD is Swiping Right for Cardi

Photo courtesy of Amadeus McCaskill/Miami New Times.

UC San Diego students swiping right have finessed their way into the top eight schools in Tinder’s #SwipeOff challenge, bringing the school one step closer to hosting a free Cardi B concert. The popular dating app partnered with the “Bodak Yellow” rapper to bring a concert to the school with the most right swipes in a March Madness-style tournament.

The challenge began on March 27. It was announced on April 9 that UCSD has made it through four rounds to make the top eight. Only swipes made while on campus with Tinder profiles linked to Facebook will count towards the total.

Despite its reputation as “socially dead,” UCSD easily surpassed more traditional party schools like Syracuse, USC, and Florida State in its quest for the concert.

However, Tritons who want to party with Cardi still face formidable competition. A 2017 survey indicated that two of the remaining competitors, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of Connecticut, are among the 20 most sexually active universities in the country. UCSD did not make the list.

UCSD students also can’t play to their well-established strengths to give themselves an edge in the competition; swipes generated using any algorithm or automated program will result in disqualification. Additionally, larger schools shouldn’t get comfortable. Right swipes are scored proportionally, as a percentage of total swipes tied to total enrollment.

Emily, a Warren first year, said she’s been swiping right way more in hopes of getting the free concert. “I don’t see us as a Cardi B type of school,” she told The Triton. “I just can’t see her coming to UCSD for some reason.” She added that Tinder’s great for her self-esteem.

Her friends Lydia and Andrew didn’t meet on Tinder, but they both created accounts just for the event. “I made an account under her name, and she made an account under my name,” Andrew said. “I’ve gotten plenty of matches already—they already know, though. They’re all like, ‘matched for Cardi B, right?’…I feel kind of bad for the legit users on Tinder, because they’ve just been saturated with a bunch of Cardi B users right now.”

Finalists in #SwipeOff will be announced on Friday, April 13. Students at the last two schools will have until April 17 to swipe on potential matches. The winning school will host a Cardi B concert on Wednesday, April 25.

Rohan Grover is an Assistant News Editor for The Triton. You can find him on Twitter @rohangro, but his DMs are closed.